American actress Scarlett Johansson made her debut in the 1994 comedy-drama North . [1] Her first lead role was as the 11-year-old sister of a pregnant teenager in Manny & Lo (1996), [2] for which she received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. [3] Johansson starred in Robert Redford's drama The Horse Whisperer (1998), and appeared in the black comedy Ghost World (2001). Two years later, Johansson played a young woman in a listless marriage in the Sofia Coppola-directed Lost in Translation , and also played a servant in Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer's household in Girl with a Pearl Earring with Colin Firth. She was nominated at the 61st Golden Globe Awards for both films, and received the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the former. [4] [5]
Two years later, Johansson starred in Woody Allen's psychological thriller Match Point , for which she garnered a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture. In 2006, she appeared in Christopher Nolan's psychological thriller The Prestige , and played a journalism student in Allen's Scoop . In the same year, Johansson made her first appearance as host of the television variety show Saturday Night Live , which she has since hosted a further five times as of 2019. Two years later, Johansson starred in Allen's romantic comedy-drama Vicky Cristina Barcelona with Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, and portrayed Queen of England Anne Boleyn's sister Mary in the historical drama The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) with Natalie Portman and Eric Bana. She received the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her Broadway debut performance in the 2010 revival of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge . [6]
She played Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) superhero film Iron Man 2 (2010). [7] Johansson reprised the role in the Joss Whedon-directed The Avengers in 2012. The following year, she starred in the Broadway revival of the Tennessee Williams play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Ciarán Hinds, and voiced an artificially intelligent virtual assistant in Spike Jonze's Her with Joaquin Phoenix. [8] Johansson appeared as Black Widow in the MCU superhero film Captain America: The Winter Soldier , its sequel Captain America: Civil War , Avengers: Age of Ultron , Avengers: Infinity War , and Avengers: Endgame —the lattermost is the second-highest-grossing film of all time. [9] Johansson played a woman going through a divorce in Noah Baumbach's comedy-drama Marriage Story with Adam Driver, and a mother who hides a Jewish girl in Nazi Germany in Taika Waititi's satirical black comedy Jojo Rabbit (both in 2019). [10] She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the former and a nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category for the latter. [11]
† | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Year(s) | Title | Role(s) | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | The Client | Jenna Halliwell | Episode: "Pilot" | [82] |
2004 | Entourage | Herself | Episode: "New York"; Cameo | [83] |
2005–2008 | Robot Chicken | Various voices | 6 episodes | [84] |
2006–2024 | Saturday Night Live | Host / Various characters | 13 episodes (Host of 6 episodes) | [85] [86] [87] [88] [89] |
2014 | HitRecord on TV | Olivia (voice) | Episode: "Re: Games" Animated short film "Two Player Game" | [90] [91] |
2021 | Marvel Studios: Assembled | Herself | Episode: "The Making of Black Widow" | [92] |
Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | A View from the Bridge | Catherine | Cort Theatre | January 24 − April 4 | [93] [94] |
2013 | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Margaret | Richard Rodgers Theatre | January 17 − March 30 | [95] [96] |
Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie | Princess Mindy (voice) | Console and PC versions | [97] |
Year | Title | Artist(s) | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | "Girl with a Pearl" | Truman | [98] |
2006 | "When the Deal Goes Down" | Bob Dylan | [99] |
2007 | "What Goes Around... Comes Around" | Justin Timberlake | [100] |
2008 | "Yes We Can" | will.i.am | [101] |
2009 | "Relator" | Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson | [102] |
2018 | "Bad Dreams" | [103] [104] |
Christopher Hemsworth is an Australian actor. He rose to prominence playing Kim Hyde in the Australian television series Home and Away (2004–2007) before beginning a film career in Hollywood. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Hemsworth starred as Thor in the 2011 film of the same name and reprised the role in several subsequent installments, which established him among the world's highest-paid actors.
Christopher Robert Evans is an American actor. He began his career with roles in television series such as Opposite Sex in 2000. Following appearances in several teen films, including 2001's Not Another Teen Movie, he gained attention for his portrayal of Marvel Comics character the Human Torch in Fantastic Four (2005) and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007). Evans made further appearances in film adaptations of comic books and graphic novels: TMNT (2007), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), and Snowpiercer (2013).
Yelena Belova is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is depicted as a spy and was the second modern-era character to use the Black Widow name. Created by Devin Grayson and J.G. Jones for Marvel Knights: Wave 2 Sketchbook #1, Belova made her first appearance in Inhumans vol. 2 #5 by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee. She was trained as a spy and assassin in the Red Room. Originally, Yelena was a foe of Natasha Romanova and was sent to kill her, but the two later became allies. She was also a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., Vanguard, and HYDRA; the latter organization changed her into a version of Super-Adaptoid. As Super-Adaptoid, she was one of the members of the High Council of A.I.M. After being freed from her Super-Adaptoid identity, Belova reverted to her old Black Widow identity before adopting the codename White Widow. She is the first confirmed asexual character in the Marvel Universe.
Scarlett Ingrid Johansson is an American actress and singer. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has been featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021. Johansson's films have grossed over $15.4 billion worldwide, making her the highest-grossing box office female star of all time. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, a Tony Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.
Marvel's The Avengers is a 2012 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sixth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Written and directed by Joss Whedon, the film features an ensemble cast including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner as the Avengers, alongside Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, and Samuel L. Jackson. In the film, Nick Fury and the spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. recruit Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Thor, Natasha Romanoff, and Clint Barton to form a team capable of stopping Thor's brother Loki from subjugating Earth.
Avengers: Age of Ultron is a 2015 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sequel to The Avengers (2012) and the 11th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Written and directed by Joss Whedon, the film features an ensemble cast including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Linda Cardellini, Stellan Skarsgård, James Spader, and Samuel L. Jackson. In the film, the Avengers fight Ultron (Spader)—an artificial intelligence created by Tony Stark (Downey) and Bruce Banner (Ruffalo)—who plans to bring about world peace by causing human extinction.
Black Widow is a 2021 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 24th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Cate Shortland from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and stars Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow alongside Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, Olga Kurylenko, William Hurt, Ray Winstone, and Rachel Weisz. Set after the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016), the film sees Romanoff on the run and forced to confront her past as a Russian spy before she became an Avenger.
American actor Robert Downey Jr. made his acting debut in 1970's Pound, directed by his father Robert Downey Sr., at the age of five. In the 1980s, Downey was considered a member of the Brat Pack after appearing in the films Weird Science with Anthony Michael Hall (1985), Back to School with Rodney Dangerfield (1986), Less than Zero with Andrew McCarthy (1987), and Johnny Be Good again with Hall (1988). Downey also starred in the films True Believer (1989) and Chances Are (1989), and was a regular cast member on the late-night variety show Saturday Night Live in 1985.
Avengers: Endgame is a 2019 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the direct sequel to Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and the 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the film features an ensemble cast which includes Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Danai Gurira, Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau, Bradley Cooper, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Josh Brolin. In the film, the surviving members of the Avengers and their allies attempt to reverse Thanos's actions in Infinity War which erased half of all life in the universe.
Natalia Alianovna Romanova, more commonly known as Natasha Romanoff, is a fictional character primarily portrayed by Scarlett Johansson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise—based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name—sometimes known by her alias, Black Widow. Romanoff is depicted as an expert spy and hand-to-hand combatant, trained in the Red Room from childhood to be a KGB assassin. This brought her under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar, and Clint Barton was sent to kill her but instead spared her life and recruited her into the organization.
Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a group of American superhero films produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. The MCU is the shared universe in which all of the films are set. The phase began in May 2008 with the release of Iron Man and concluded in May 2012 with the release of The Avengers. Kevin Feige produced every film in the phase, with Avi Arad also producing Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, and Gale Anne Hurd also producing The Incredible Hulk.
The Avengers are a team of fictional superheroes and the protagonists of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, based on the Marvel Comics team of the same name created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963. Founded by S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury, the team is a United States–based organization composed primarily of superpowered and gifted individuals, described as "Earth's Mightiest Heroes", who are committed to the world's protection from a variety of threats. The Avengers are depicted as operating in the state of New York: originally from the Avengers Tower in Midtown Manhattan and subsequently in the Avengers Compound in Upstate New York. Arranged as an ensemble of core MCU characters originally consisting of Tony Stark / Iron Man, Steve Rogers / Captain America, Thor, Bruce Banner / Hulk, Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, and Clint Barton / Hawkeye, it later expands to include 16 total members. Regarded as an important part of the franchise, they are central to the MCU's first 23 films, collectively known as the Infinity Saga. The Avengers from alternate universes were depicted in subsequent MCU properties across the Multiverse Saga, including appearances in the Disney+ animated series What If...? (2021–present) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). The Avengers are set to return in Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027). Both films will be part of the MCU's Phase Six, concluding the Multiverse Saga.
Produced by Marvel Studios since 2008, under the ownership of the Walt Disney Company since 2009, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a media franchise, with over 32 films and 20 television series already produced. Operating with shared universe storytelling, the media franchise has had significant commercial success and has largely received positive critical reviews. However, it has also been criticized by filmmakers for its impact on the film industry, most notably in comments made by Martin Scorsese in 2019, which provoked significant debate among filmmakers. The series has also seen criticism from activists for its representation of minority characters and relationship with the American military.